8 ways to make internal video a hit

One might think that laying out a company directive in black and white
would be the clearest and most straightforward means of communicating.

Yet video has taken off as a means of communication for the very reason
that it conveys the subtleties of messaging so well.

“Video offers multiple dimensions,” says Becky Graebe director of
communications at the business analytics company SAS. “If you’re just
reading the written word, it’s a little harder to interpret, but if you’re
watching someone, and their words are combined with their gestures and
their body movements and their expressions, it’s just a richer experience.”

Besides, different forms of content reach people in different ways. At
times it can be easy to glance over a pithy email, but the visuals of video
make it a great way to shake things up and make a greater impact.

“There’s a lot of value in switching the format that people receive content
in,” says Cheryl Sansonetti, marketing director at Merkle Inc. “I receive
200 emails a day and I am reading through a lot of text, and the
opportunity to change that up gets people’s attention.”

Recently, Intel produced an inspirational video for 500 of its top leaders
internally, says Sabrina Stoffregen, global communication manager for the
5,000-person sales and marketing employees at Intel. The video celebrated
Intel successes over the last 50 years and sought to inspire the leadership
for the coming half-century. It helped leaders better understand how
behaviors can amplify—or diminish—growth and vitality, she says.

The video’s central metaphor was the challenge of building the Golden Gate
Bridge, Stoffregen says. “We wove a compelling story for the leadership
team around their vital and irreplaceable role as bridge builders,” she
says.

The message resonated profoundly with the leadership, suggesting several
takeaways for video production:

Stoffregen’s team took the time to understand what its leaders know
about, care about, and want to hear, then crafted a narrative to resonate
with their needs, she says.

It’s not enough to get the facts right. Intel had to make an emotional
connection as well, she says. By helping leaders see themselves as the
“heroes” in the narrative, it fueled their enthusiasm to deliver on the
call to action.

The message authentically expressed the company’s values, engaged the
audiences’ curiosity, and inspired leaders to get behind a shared purpose
and vision.

“It was about capturing both the hearts and minds of our audience,”
Stoffregen says.

2. Let employees post video selfies.

Before webcasts with the CEO, SAS has begun requesting that employees post
video selfie questions for the boss. During the live webcast itself,
preselected selfies are woven into the format, Graebe says.

For example, if someone has a question about artificial intelligence and
what SAS doing in that field, employees can see that individual posing the
question. Then it cuts to the live-cast. “We work it in ahead of time so
that he can address them in the video,” Graebe says.

The webcasts are filmed before a small live audience of 25-30—all that can
be squeezed into the studio space. Communicators also draw questions from
SAS’s internal platform, The Hub.

3. Produce a weekly video ‘rewind.’

Every Friday, Metropolitan State University of Denver enlists an employee
volunteer to describe the top articles posted on its “Early Bird” internal
news site from the previous week, says Cathy Lucas, chief communications
officer.

In the video series, called “Roadrunner Rewind” after the university’s
mascot, MSU Denver seeks to get a broad representation of its employees:
faculty, administrators and classified staff. They also get to highlight
the programs they’re working on.

In a recent video, an employee working with the college assistance migrant
program highlighted stories such as a call for story ideas, a trustee named
to the Colorado Business Hall of Fame, and the faculty center for
excellence.

4. Engage remote audiences with executive videos.

Folks at the home office might bump into top executives bustling down a
corridor or at a town hall meeting. Elsewhere, the chances to see the
executives face-to-face are rarer.

This is why there’s still a place for video of the senior leadership,
whether storyboarded and scripted, or less formal. “Our communication
surveys are showing us employees, especially out of the U.S., are enjoying
the chance to see our executives,” Graebe says.

5. Conduct ‘man-on-the-street’ interviews.

You’ve seen the puffy-haired anchorperson from your local TV station
interviewing passersby outside a train station or on a busy plaza. Why not
take the same approach within your organization? Man-on-the-street
interviews reveal what employees care about, Graebe says.

Perhaps these could be linked with answers by executives or specialists,
offering a way to get at matters that are bugging your staff, or drawing
forth ideas to put to use.

6. Tell the tale behind the sale.

In the end, profitability is all about persuading customers to write that
check or type in their credit card number. So, how does a good salesperson
make the sale?

SAS has a video short series called “The Tale Behind the Sale,” which
informs viewers about a creative sales situation. The videos weave together
comments from three to four people, each talking for 20-30 seconds,
“letting the people who were involved in that tell it from their
perspective,” Graebe says.

7. Allow employees to share video.

SAS employees can upload video to The Hub, just as one can to YouTube or
other platforms. Employee-generated content carries an authenticity that
can’t be replicated by the organizational voice, Graebe says. Employees
know that it’s not just spin. “It’s also important to draw out all the
voices that contribute to the success of the company, and that’s one way of
doing that,” she says.

She adds that some communicators from other companies say, “Wait, you just
let employees upload a photo, and it’s going to be on the home page, and
you’re not going to review them, and there’s not going to be some
approval?”

Precisely, she tells them. “There’s a level of trust that’s communicated
that’s kind of an undercurrent,” she says. “And that’s what we want to be
about.”

8. Appoint facilitators in local offices.

Merkle Inc., designates facilitators who act as point-persons to help
people in local offices share video through the Dynamic Signal app, says
marketing director Cheryl Sansonetti. These facilitators are staff members
who contribute frequently and can encourage technophobes or shy colleagues
to get involved.

People can upload to the platform straight from their phones, including an
explanation of the content. The community manager tags and publishes the
video. The same goes for events at which the company’s executives or
experts are speaking.

“We find that people love to share what’s going on in the office culture,
... to share, ‘Hey, this is our holiday office party,’” Sansonetti says.